Public enemy number 1:
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Where is Osama Bin Laden?
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How often does U.S. intelligence know where he is? </td> <td bgcolor=#000000 rowspan=6 width=1>
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How does Bin Laden disguise his movements? </td></tr> <tr> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How does he communicate? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Can he travel outside Afghanistan? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How is Bin Laden's terror network structured? </td></tr> <tr> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Where does Al-Qaeda operate? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How does the network operate? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How long is an operation in the planning stages? </td></tr> <tr> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How are operational responsibilities divided? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How much do these operations cost? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Does he focus on one target at a time? </td></tr> <tr> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How important is operational security to Al-Qaeda? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Has the U.S. had any success against his operations? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Are his operations limited to bombings? </td></tr> <tr> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Why haven't we tried to grab him? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
How is his health? </td> <td>â¢</td> <td valign=top>
Is there any indication he works with governments in the Middle East? </td></tr></tbody></table><a target=_top name=""></a>
NBC NEWS <table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=472> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan=3 height=10></td></tr> <tr> <td align=left colspan=3 valign=top width=472>NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2001 â Osama bin Laden, one-time ally of the CIA in the war against the Soviet army in Afghanistan, is now the primary suspect in the most deadly terrorist attack on the United States in the nationâs history. The Saudi-born millionaire has been sheltered by Afghanistanâs radical Taliban regime since 1996. NBC New investigative producer Robert Windrem has tracked bin Ladenâs rise to the top of Americaâs Most Wanted list. Here are some questions and answers about bin Laden:</td></tr></tbody></table><!--- MPA NEW TEMPLATE CODE STARTS HERE --->
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<a target=_top name=1></a>Where is Osama Bin Laden?
Most recently, he has been seen near Jalalabad, a city in eastern Afghanistan. He moves three or more times weekly, living in mud huts, tent cities, caves, etc. Bin Laden is accompanied by a security entourage, including heavily armed bodyguards and anti-aircraft guns mounted on trucks. Often, multiple sites are set up for his use and he will choose a site at the last minute. He is believed to have a network of some 400 operatives in Afghanistan, most having arrived with him from Sudan in 1996. <center>
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<a target=_top name=2></a>How often does U.S. intelligence know where he is?
In recent months, U.S. intelligence has gotten a better grasp on how he operates and where. âWe are getting better at finding him. There are days and days where we donât know where he is,â said one U.S. official. On other days, the U.S. has âdifferent degrees of specificity as to where he is. Does he move every night? Not every night...but he moves a lot.â At the time of the embassy bombings, the U.S. had no idea where he was.
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<a target=_top name=3></a>How does Bin Laden disguise his movements?
Bin Laden regularly varies the details of his movements. He will vary not only the number of vehicles in his convoys, for example, but also the type of vehicle as well. On some travels, he will give his entourage hoursâ notice of his departure. At other times, he will leave at a momentâs notice. He will also have several locations prepared, with only a few of his aides knowing which he will ultimately choose. While he does not change locations every night, he changes about twice a week.
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<a target=_top name=4></a>How does he communicate?
His biggest problem remains communications, which the U.S. has successfully compromised. Another official said, âHeâs stopped using satellite phones, although weâve caught many of his couriers, it only takes fifty bucks to buy someone in Afghanistan.â Bin Laden previously used Inmarsat phones until he discovered that U.S. was intercepting his communications off the Inmarsat-3 satellite over the Indian Ocean. For years, the National Security Agency would distribute verbatim transcripts of calls Bin Laden made to subordinates. One of the biggest breaks in the embassy bombing investigation was interception of a congratulatory phone call in the days after the bombings.
Other officials note the clever combination of 19th and 20th century means of communications Bin Laden has adapted. Bin Ladenâs couriers often carry encrypted floppy disks and meet in third. Once in the hands of the target nationâs cell, the disk is de-encrypted. He has also used faxes from remote locations and in some cases, internet-based e-mail. In addition to encryption, Al-Qaeda has used various code words and aliases to disguise identities. Bin Laden has been described in Al-Qaeda communications as âthe Sheikh,â âHajj,â âAbu Abdullah,â and âthe Director.â Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, mastermind of the embassy bombings, used at least three aliases. Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the World Trade Center, used 15 as well as 11 passports. One law enforcement source said Al-Qaeda has been trying to recruit Americans as couriers, knowing an American passport is easier to use worldwide.
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<a target=_top name=5></a>Can he travel outside Afghanistan?
Bin Laden is believed to have access to âseveral planes,â the ownership of which is âa bit cloudy...but there are certainly enough aircraft to move a rather tall terrorist,â one senior U.S. intelligence official said. Bin Laden traveled around the Muslim world in charter jets for years prior to his exile in Afghanistan. He also owns a private jet, said an intelligence official.
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<a target=_top name=6></a>How is Bin Ladenâs terror network, Al-Qaeda, structured?
Bin Laden is the undisputed leader, called âemirâ or âprinceâ by his followers who must take a sworn oath to him, violation of which is punishable by death. Beneath him is the âshura al-majlisâ or âconsultative councilâ which includes his top lieutenants. His two aides are Egyptians: Ayman al-Zawahiri, a physician and leader of al-Jihad, the violent Egyptian group responsible for the Luxor tourist massacre in 1995. Muhammed Atef, his military commander who also served in al-Jihad.
A âfatwahâ committee of the council makes the decisions to carry out terrorist attacks.
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<a target=_top name=7></a>Where does Al-Qaeda operate?
Al-Qaeda is believed to have operations in 60 countries, active cells in 20, including the United States. It is also believed to operate training centers in both Afghanistan and Sudan, the first beginning operations in 1994 with representatives from Egyptian, Algerian, Tunisian and Palestinian extremist groups. Among the countries identified as having active cells of Al-Qaeda are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Chechnya, Philippines, Egypt, Tunisia, etc.
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<a target=_top name=8></a>How does Al-Qaeda network operate?
Its operations are meticulous, with some plans in the works for months if not years. They are also clever and Bin Laden himself is very much hands on.
Some examples:
The 1993 World Trade Center bombers cased the twin towers multiple times, looking not just at security but the points under the trade center that an explosion could do the most damage.
The East Africa embassy bombers phoned in credible threats to the embassy, and then observed the embassy response.
The 1995 assassination attempt of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was based on surveillance of Mubarakâs security arrangements in Ethiopia two years earlier. Similarly, Bin Laden operatives videotaped security arrangements at President Clintonâs 1994 visit to Manila, knowing he had already committed to visiting the Philippine capital for an Asian-Pacific summit two years later. The tapes were sent to Bin Laden, then living in Sudan.
âHe may have begun as a venture capitalist for terrorism,â said one high-ranking intelligence officer of his evolution as a terrorist. âBut there is no doubt now that he is operating like a CEO.â
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<a target=_top name=10></a>How long is an operation in the planning stages?
The minimum appears to be four to six months, with some plans evolving over years. The surveillance of the East Africa embassy bombings began in 1993, five years before the bombing was carried out.
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<a target=_top name=11></a>How are operational responsibilities divided?
Each operation has a planning cell and an execution cell, with the execution cell arriving on the scene in some cases only weeks before the attack is carried out.
In most cases, like the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the embassy bombings, an outsider recruits local country nationals to operate as a cell. Cells rarely number more than 10 people. In rare cases are the bombersâeither the planners or the operatorsâover the age of 30. At the time of the two bombings, the masterminds were both aged 25.
Plans are made in one location then the bomb is made in another. In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the planning took place in a Jersey City apartment, the materials were stored in a self-storage facility and bomb was put together in a garage. Similarly in Nairobi, the planning was done at a rundown hotel in downtown, while the bomb was put together in a suburban villa.
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<a target=_top name=12></a>How much do these operations cost? Bin Laden has enormous resources. Is using up most of his money?
âTerrorism is not an expensive sport,â said one senior Treasury Department official who tracks terroristsâ money. The total cost of the 1993 World Trade Center attack amounted to around $18,000, including purchase of equipment, rental of the van used in the bombing, purchase of a car, rental of two apartments, a garage and the self-storage space as well as plane tickets. Not included in the cost: $6,000 in unpaid phone bills.
Although at the time of the embassy bombings, the CIA and others pegged Bin Ladenâs wealth at $300 million, subsequent intelligence gathering has resulted in a significant reduction of the estimate, although the number is still in the tens of millions.
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<a target=_top name=13></a>Does he focus on one target at a time or simultaneously plan various attacks?
Said one official of his recent planning, âHe is planning several hits and at some point heâs going to break through.â U.S. officials note that the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania were to be accompanied by other, near simultaneous bombings in other world capitals. One in Tirana, Albania, was foiled days before it took place, so a series of coordinated attacks is well within his operational capabilities.
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<a target=_top name=14></a>How important is operational security to Al-Qaeda?
Very, say officials. They have seen repeated instances where if operatives encounter something unexpected, they will âgo back to square oneâ out of fear that operational security has been breached. There is little autonomy, little spontaneity in operational matters and changes in plans must be approved at higher levels. The cell leader on the scene can call off an operation without consulting anyone higher, said a senior intelligence official.
Said one counter-terror official: âThey have one idea...alter it for them, then they go back to drawing board. They are not agile. They have to reload and that takes months...about four to six months.â
âThey are very willing to trade time for operational security.â
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<a target=_top name=15></a>Has the U.S. had any success against his operations?
Without providing details, CIA Director George Tenet has publicly testified that the CIA has disrupted âseveralâ terrorist attacks against Americans. U.S. officials confirm those disruptions have involved planned attacks by Bin Laden.
More than 100 of his operatives have been arrested worldwide since the embassy bombings in August 1998 on every continent but Australia and Antarctica. Five men accused of conspiring in the embassy bombings are in U.S. custody, awaiting trial in Manhattan. Another is awaiting extradition in London. Among operations believed to have been thwarted: a planned attack on U.S. facilities in London early this year and an attack on FBI Headquarters in Washington this past summer.
âWe keep stopping him; he keeps coming back,â said one Pentagon official. âYou cannot overestimate the danger this man poses to the United Statesâ, said a senior White House official.
âHe has re-generated some cells and started new ones,â said a Pentagon official involved in tracking Bin Laden. âWe will be dealing with him for a long time because his organizational capability continues to improve. Does it suck being UBL [the common shorthand in U.S. intelligence community for Bin Laden]? Yes. He is on the road all the time. It is hard to conduct business. He canât touch a phone. He is constantly on run. But he is still out there.â
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<a target=_top name=16></a>Are his operations limited to bombings or does he have aspirations in the nuclear, biological and chemical areas?
Officials from intelligence, military, emergency management and national security agencies say Bin Laden is branching out: planning assassinations using âcontact poisonsâ, obtaining ârudimentaryâ chemical and biological materials, trying to acquire radioactive material.
The newest information which one official called âfascinatingâ is that Bin Laden may be returning to an old strategy: assassination. One Pentagon official involved in tracking Bin Laden says the man officials call âthe terrorist princeâ has been obtaining âcontact poisons...KGB-like pelletsâ that would be used in assassinations and in some cases are difficult or impossible to detect in an autopsy. The official noted that in the early 1990âs Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network was involved in assassination attempts on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Jordanian Crown Princeânow KingâAbdullah as well as planning to kill Pope John Paul and President Clinton.
He added that public U.S. intelligence reports on Bin Ladenâs training camps have noted the network has instructed terrorists in assassination and kidnapping.
The contact poisons are among ârudimentary chemical and biological stuffâ Bin Laden has obtained recently. However, one official said the networkâs efforts to obtain such materials is âscattershot and unfocused...all over the boardâ without a pattern to indicate what he might be planning.
âHe is looking for all sorts of stuffâ adding that twice Bin Laden operatives tried to obtain nuclear materials. Bin Ladenâs German operation was the victim of a sting operation in 1993 when it tried to buy highly enriched uranium on the Soviet black market. A year later, another similar attempt failed. The Bin Laden operatives in charge of those attempts, Mamdouh Salim and Ramzi Yousef, are in U.S. custody. Moreover, Russian intelligence has told the United States that they believe Bin Laden has been working with Chechen rebels to obtain radioactive material for a âradiological dispersal deviceâ or âdirty bombâ that would spray the potentially deadly material over a small area. An official involved in planning emergency response to a terrorist attack says the U.S. has taken the intelligence seriously.
However, officials cautioned that there is âno sense of a technical sophisticationâ in Bin Ladenâs camp and that âthis stuff is much more difficult to use than people think.
âAfter all, Saddam Hussein spent $8 billion on nuclear weapons and came away with (nothing). He doesnât know how to do this. He is spending every night in a different mud hut, so weâre not too worried that he is reprocessing plutonium.â
On the other hand, the official added, âif he is stumbling onto something, there is no doubt he will use it.â
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<a target=_top name=17></a>Why havenât we tried to grab him?
âWe are serious about going after him,â said one senior administration official. âHe is serious about going after us. If we can nail his ass, we will. But it is going to be action and reaction for a long time.â
Doing a âsnatch-and-grabâ operation âtime to time looks appealing,â said a Pentagon official. Has the U.S. planned such a mission? Yes, said the official. Has the U.S. put Delta Force personnel on planes in preparation for such a mission? âNot recently.â The big problem remains the need for real time information on his whereabouts.
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<a target=_top name=18></a>How is his health? A few months ago, there were reports he was terminally ill. What became of those reports?
A senior counter-terrorism official said the latest CIA analysis is that he is âa hypochondriac...but then he has chosen a stressful lifestyle and that can manifest itself in strange ways if you are worried about getting a TLAM (missile) up your ass.â
Nevertheless, he is known to have an enlarged heart, chronically low blood pressure and is missing toes on one foot from a battle wound suffered in Afghanistan. He is regularly attended by a physician.
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<a target=_top name=19></a>Is there any indication he works with governments in the Middle East?
Aside from Afghanistan, where Bin Laden has long-standing tiesâincluding some possible family tiesâwith the ruling Taliban, there are indications Bin Laden has some contacts with both the governments of Iran and Pakistan.
The connections with Iran are described in recent Justice Department papers filed in the embassy bombing case. The U.S. alleges that on two different occasions in the early 1990âs, a senior religious leader from Iran met with Bin Ladenâs representatives in Khartoum to discuss putting aside religious differences â Bin Laden is a Wahabi Muslim, Iran is Shiiteâand cooperate against western interests. However, there is no information to suggest any joint operations were ever planned or carried out.
The link with Pakistan is more current. One issue that distresses U.S. officials is intelligence that Bin Laden, Kashmiri Muslim rebels in India and Pakistanâs Inter-Service Intelligence [ISI], its quasi-autonomous military intelligence agency are involved in âmonkey businessâ together. The U.S. used the ISI in the 1980âs to fund, train and arm the Afghan mujahedin, including Bin Laden, in its fight against the Soviet Red Army.
Calling it a âstewâ, a âcrazy soupâ and a âcozy relationshipâ, two officials noted that the key to the relationship is Pakistanâs use of rebel insurgents in Kashmir, the troubled region that has been the subject of three wars between Pakistan and India. Muslim fighters, financed by the ISI but trained by Bin Laden, have been operating in the Indian part of Kashmir.
âThe Pakistanis have interest in working with people who can help them in Kashmir. Bin Laden has an interest in helping Muslim fighters. It is a cozy relationship.â
In fact, said the officials, the U.S. now believes that most of those killed in last Augustâs attack on Bin Laden camps in Afghanistan were Kashmiri insurgents training to kill Indians. And that linkage, they note, is critical to understanding both Bin Ladenâs network and the future of religious terrorism. Bin Laden they note has had connections over the years with other terrorist groups in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Chechnya, Bosnia, Albania, Algeria, Uruguay and Ecuador.
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